Lactate Administration Reduces Brain Injury and Ameliorates Behavioral Outcomes Following Neonatal Hypoxia–Ischemia

Neonatal hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy is a major cause of mortality and disability in newborns and the only standard approach for treating this condition is therapeutic hypothermia, which shows some limitations. Thus, putative neuroprotective agents have been tested in animal models. The present study evaluated the administration of lactate, a potential energy substrate of the central nervous system (CNS) in an animal model of hypoxia–ischemia (HI), that mimics in neonatal rats the brain damage observed in human newborns. Seven-day-old (P7) male and female Wistar rats underwent permanent common right carotid occlusion combined with an exposition to a hypoxic atmosphere (8% oxygen) for 60 min. Animals were assigned to four experimental groups: HI, HI + LAC, SHAM, SHAM + LAC. Lactate was administered intraperitoneally 30 min and 2 h after hypoxia in HI + LAC and SHAM + LAC groups. HI and SHAM groups received vehicle at the same time points. The volume of brain lesion was evaluated in P9. Animals underwent behavioral assessments: negative geotaxis, righting reflex (P8 and P14), and cylinder test (P20). Lactate administration reduced the volume of brain lesion and improved behavioral parameters after HI in both sexes. Thus, lactate administration could be a neuroprotective strategy for the treatment of neonatal HI, a disorder still affecting a significant percentage of human newborns.